Playboy Is Accepting Votes for 2009's Sexiest Sportscaster: Can Anyone Dethrone EA?

Please prepare yourself for a discussion on a somewhat sexist topic (but appropriately handled by yours truly, natch.) See, Playboy magazine, well known for its brilliant articles, is holding 2009's Sexiest Sportscaster contest. You may remember 2008's event, in which Erin Andrews of ESPN and sandwich eating fame steamrolled the competition en route to winning the crown.

Not to mention bloggers' hearts everywhere. This year, though, EA has seen a little bit -- in my humble opinion -- of a downtrend in terms of popularity. She's still beloved and stalked and all that, but come on folks, aren't we a little sick of harassing her with pictures and signs at every single ESPN event? Aren't we ready for a new lady of sports sideline (or not sideline -- looking at you, Linda Kohn!) to dethrone Andrews?

But, "who!??!?" you ask, will take the queen of sexy sports media down? Excellent question. And it's precisely why Playboy.com just announced their nominees and they are ... (affiliated station in parentheses):

Erin Andrews (ESPN)
Erin Bates (Speed/OLN) Michelle Beisner (NFL Network) Bonnie Bernstein (CBS) Tina Cervasio (MSG) Melanie Collins (Big Ten Network) Stacey Dales (ESPN) Colleen Dominguez (ESPN) Alex Flanagan (NBC)

Jamie Little (ESPN/NBC) Hazel Mae (NESN) Adriana Monsalve (ESPN Deportes) Rachel Nichols (ESPN) Pam Oliver (Fox) Ashley Russell (Rivals.com) Lisa Salters (ESPN) Lauren Shehadi (CBS) Tiffany Simons (NBC) Lindsay Soto (NFL Network) Melissa Stark (ABC) Sage Steele (ESPN) Hannah Storm (ESPN) Mary Strong (NFL Network) Molly Sullivan (MTN) Krista Voda (FOX) Amber Wilson (OpenSports.com) Tracy Wolfson (CBS)

Now, I certainly don't think that anyone from Andrews' own network can beat the reigning champ -- that just seems a little too incestual and unlikely. I do, however, have a ton of faith in Charissa Thompson, Alex Flanagan and my dark horse special, Lindsay Soto, from the NFL Network. Don't believe me? Pictures after the jump.
(Ms. Flanagan, pictured above)

(Ms. Soto, above)

(Ms. Thompson, pictured above)